Life in the south with pre-teen daughters, a house full of animals and a scrapbooking addiction.

12 August 2011

What I'm Reading Right Now

I thought I’d share with you another installment of the books I’ve been reading this summer. My reading has slowed down in the past few weeks – mostly because it’s been so busy around here that by the time I finally sit still in the evenings, I’m too sleepy to read for more than a few minutes and then I crash!

I’ve been into some mystery/crime novels this summer. Not sure why, except that I can’t seem to stomach any romance novels right now. The escapism of the mysteries seem to be what I’m looking for – and enjoying – right now.

This was a Barnes & Noble promo book – I can’t remember if it was a Free Friday or 99 cent promo, but I grabbed it because it looked good… and it was. Really good.

The protagonist is Harry Bosch, an LAPD detective who is a bit of an outcast in the Police community and yet has a very strong sense of right and wrong and in getting to the bottom of things.

Harry is called out on a Sunday for a dead body that is found in a culvert pipe at Mulholland Dam. He recognizes the body as a fellow Vietnam Vet and his determination to get to the bottom of things is set.

As Harry digs into the mysterious murder, he tangles with the FBI, the Internal Affairs division and a number of thugs out to ensure he doesn’t figure out what happened to his friend.

It was very engrossing and kept me awake quite a few nights as I read and read trying to get to the end of a chapter, or at least a stopping point, before going to sleep. It wasn’t something I probably would’ve picked out in a bookstore, but I really enjoyed it and plan to read more of his books.

The next in the Harry Bosch saga is The Black Ice, so that is on my to-read-soon list.

This was a really, really good book. So engrossing – it grabs you in the first 20 pages and doesn’t let you go until the very end.

The main character is Nick Horrigan, who has worked to build himself a quiet, safe life. All of that changes when his apartment is invaded in the middle of the night by a SWAT team who snatch him out of his house and take him to a waiting helicopter.

Nick is whisked off to a nuclear reactor which has been overtaken by a terrorist who has asked specifically to speak to Nick.

Thus begins a whirlwind in which Nick is embroiled in a web of lies, deception and half-truths which hearken back to the death of his step-father when Nick was a young teenager. In order to survive, Nick must determine what is truth, what is real, and who is good and who is evil.

The only thing that Nick knows for sure is his step-father’s dying words - “Trust No One.”

I have to say, this was one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Certainly not one, again, that I would’ve sought out, but so, so good.

Definitely one I would recommend to anyone looking for an engrossing mystery/adventure/action story.

Another mystery, but certainly a non-traditional telling of a mystery, was my next read:

I picked this up at a local bookstore on my vacation. It was in a bin of B1G1 books, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to give it a try.

It was so cute.

The mystery is written from the perspective of Chet, the happy-go-lucky pup who belongs to Bernie, a down-on-his-luck private investigator.

Bernie is called in on missing persons case and he and Chet work to find the missing teenaged girl, getting into all sorts of scrapes and tight squeezes as they go along and yet their partnership remains strong and they triumph (as you know they will) in the end.

The most charming part of the book is the perspective from which it is written. Watching events unfold from Chet’s perspective is a little like talking to someone with serious attention deficit issues – one minute he is describing the “perp” and the next he is distracted by the enticing she-bark of some mysterious female pup off in the distance. And while it is sometimes a little distracting, it is mostly entertaining – especially if you are an animal lover. I couldn’t help looking at my own pups in a little different light and wondering what was really going on in their heads when I chat with them during the day.

A cute, light read that was definitely worth the B1G1 price. I will be picking up the next one in this series sometime soon, too.

2 Comments

I will be looking these up. I read pretty much only crime/thrillers. I just finish The Girl With The Dragon tattoo, which was really good picking up the next in series The Girl Who Played with Fire. But mostly I am waiting on the next installment in the Temperence Brennen series by Kathy Reichs (bones the tv show is based on her novels) it comes out this fall! Love getting your thoughts, it keeps me close to my friend. D

Hello, my friend!
I did not know that there were books to go with the Bones series!! I just discovered that show this summer and I'm hooked! Now I will have to go find the books.
Thanks!!!
Love ya,
Lois